Stop Censoring the IRS Scandal, 186 Conservative and Tea Party Leaders Demand of Liberal Media

July 29th, 2013 10:32 AM

RESTON, Va. – Today, 186 leaders of the conservative movement and the Tea Party – including congressmen, national conservative leaders, and Tea Party leaders from coast-to-coast – joined Media Research Center President Brent Bozell’s call to action.

Last Thursday, Bozell, nationally syndicated radio host Rush Limbaugh, Citizens United President David Bossie, Tea Party Patriots Co-Founder Jenny Beth Martin, and Family Research Council President Tony Perkins released a joint statement demanding that the liberal broadcast networks – ABC, CBS, and NBC – stop censoring coverage of the ongoing IRS targeting scandal. That statement read, in part:


“The liberal media’s refusal to cover the IRS scandal – more than the NSA scandal, more than DOJ’s surveillance of journalists, more even than the tragic loss of life in Benghazi – cuts to the very heart of their corruption. No fair, objective journalist can look at the facts of this flagrant abuse of power and not conclude that it is a massive political scandal deserving of constant, merciless scrutiny.”

According to MRC analysts, during the entire month of July, the IRS scandal – which continues to creep closer and closer to the White House – has only received a minute and a half of coverage on the network morning and evening shows. By comparison, during a three-day period last week, the three network morning news shows gave more coverage (187 minutes) to the birth of Britain’s Prince George than they gave to the entire IRS scandal (157 minutes) over the 10 and a half weeks since it broke. That’s a per day average of 62 and a half minutes for the royal baby and only two minutes and six seconds of coverage for the royal mess inside the IRS; a 34 to 1 ratio.

During that time, multiple new IRS scandals emerged to feed the news cycle, such as: $70 million in bonuses to IRS agents; hundreds of millions of dollars of contracts granted to a business owner with a friend inside the agency: agents abusing IRS credit cards to pay for such things as diet pills, romance novels and even online pornography; and the shocking revelation that the office of the chief counsel – one of only two Obama appointees in the agency – may have been directly involved.

Bozell welcomes the 186 additional signatories to the joint statement:

Barack Obama and his squawking parrots in the liberal media are calling the IRS scandal ‘phony,’ and the networks have scrubbed it from their broadcasts. But the everyday Americans targeted by this historic abuse of power don’t think it’s phony.

This very real, very damaging political scandal is creating a massive credibility problem not only for the IRS, but for the networks who refuse to report it.

Nearly 200 leaders of the Conservative Movement and the Tea Party from across the nation have joined our demand to the liberal media: Cover this story. Be merciless and unrelenting. Learn and report the truth, even if it leads to the Oval Office.

Conservative Leaders

Rep. Michelle Bachman (R-6th/Minn.)

Jim Backlin, Christian Coalition of America

Gary L. Bauer, president, American Values

Morton Blackwell, chairman, The Weyrich Lunch

Brian Brown, president, National Organization for Marriage

Paul Caprio, president, Patriotic Veterans

Susan A. Carleson, chairman & CEO, American Civil Rights Union

Elaine Donnelly, president, Center for Military Readiness

Mark Fitzgibbons, president, corporate affairs, American Target Advertising

Rep. Louis Gohmert (R-1st/Texas)

Colin A. Hanna, president, Let Freedom Ring

Andrea Lafferty, president, Traditional Values Coalition

George Landrith, president, Frontiers of Freedom

Jim Martin, president, 60 Plus Association

Gary A. Marx, executive director, Faith & Freedom Coalition

Penny Nance, CEO & president, Concerned Women for America

Preston Noell, III, president, Tradition, Family, Property, Inc.

Melissa Ortiz, founder/chairman, Able Americans

Karl Ottosen, acting chairman, MRC

Judson Phillips, founder, Tea Party Nation

Larry Pratt, executive director, Gun Owners of America

Bob Reccord, executive director, Council for National Policy

Rev. Lou Sheldon, Traditional Values Coalition

Craig Shirley, Reagan Biographer

Mat Staver, founder and chairman, Liberty Counsel

Stephen Stone, president, RenewAmerica

Lew Uhler, president, National Tax Limitation Committee

Richard Viguerie, chairman, ConservatveHQ.com

Tim Wildmon, president, American Family Association

 

Tea Party

Brad Tangen, acting coordinator, Northeast Arkansas Tea Party

Vera Anderson, leader of TP group, Daisy Mountain Tea Party Patriots

John Evans, Tea Party Patriots

Katie Miller, tea party Cochise county VP, Tea Party Cochise County

Bernard Paluch, leadership group, Surprise Tea Party Patriots

Joy Staveley, northern Arizona state coordinator, Tea Party Patriots and Flagstaff Tea Party

Don and Patti Woolley, local coordinators, Sahuarita TPP

Colleen Britton, president, Vaca Valley Tea Party

Ann Coil, coordinator, Santa Ana Tea Party

Linda Dorr, local coordinator, Laguna Patriots

Matt Grocott, director, MyLiberty

Ronika Johnson, coordinator, Mariposa Patriots

Ross Jones, moderator, Intermountian Tea Party

Gwen Myers, local coordinator, Tea Party Roseville CA

Sally Rapoza, community organizer, Redding Tea Party

James Ricketts, treasurer, Tea Party United

Carla Virga, secretary, Sutter Buttes Tea Party

Dean Wilson, Del Norte Tea Party Patriots

Randy Corporon, chairman, Arapahoe (County) Tea Party

Loren Sheets, 285 Corridor Tea Party

Regina Thomson, president, Colorado Tea Party Patriots

John Baker, coordinator, Pensacola Tea Party

William C. Benedict, Tea Party Manatee

Elaine Cade, Tea Party Manatee

Beth Colvin, Sarasota Patriots

John & Nancy Davis, Manatee County

Robert Duff, local coordinator, Broward Tea Party

Douglas Egger, member, BOD, Tea Party Manatee, Bradenton, FL

George Fuller, member, Sarasota Patriots

Lester Lob, Highlands Tea Party

Jack May, Tea Party Manatee

Harold Muxlow Sr., AAOL, Americans Against Oppressive Laws, Inc,

Larry Rued, Manatee Florida Tea Party

Gail Sylvia-Cox, Manatee County

Natalie Wiggins, Tea Party Manatee

Mary Adamski, co-founder, North Georgia 912

John Clark, Cedartown Tea Party

Debbie Dooley, co-founder, Atlanta Tea Party

Gail Engelhardt, director, Bartow County Tea Party

Bill Evelyn, SOGTP

William Gruetter, Preserve Our Constitution, Inc.,

James Hargreaves, Rights Under God

Ernest Housner, member, Tea Party Immigration Coalition

Michael Lowry, North Fulton & Friends

Kenneth Murphy, member, Fayette County Issue Tea Party

Lee Norman, assistant coordinator, Senoia Tea Party

Jacqueline Peterson, CEO, Cedartown Tea Party

Jack Smith, founder, Liberty Group Tea Party

Naomi Swanson, local coordinator, Dalton Tea Party

Janice Westmoreland, chair, Milledgeville Area Patriots

Joyce Lutz, Des Moines TP

Craig Campbell, executive officer, Ada County 1st BN Light Foot Militia

Warren Grover, Gem State Tea Party

Don Lloyd, LC Tea Party

Larae Oram, Pocatello Tea Party Patriots

Pam Stout, president, Sandpoint Tea Party Patriots

Teresa Ballew, co-Founder, Clark Co. Tea Party Patriots

James Bratten, local coordinator, Vanderburgh County Tea Party Patriots

Brent Gentry, Morgan County Tea Party Patriots

Ray Harney, Parke County Patriots

Kelly Khuri, co-founder, Clark County Tea Party Patriots

Craig Kline, co-founder, Greene Tea Patriots

Deborah Miller, local coordinator, Northern Indiana Patriots

Janet Smith, local coordinator, Greenfield Area Tea Party

Ronnie Broughton, president, Webster Tea Party Patriots

Marie Doucette, Cumberland County Tea Party

Mike Callahan, United and Standing

Anne Phelps, CEO, coordinator, precinct delegate, Concerned American Citizen, Stand Up Speak Out

 

Randy Liebo, coordinator, Liberty Tea Party Patriots

Clint Schaffnit, Lake of the Ozarks Tea Party for Liberty

Mart Staggs, leader, 9-12 We the People of Monroe Co.

Virginia Weigum, coordinator, TTP ST JO MO

Nathan Brown, local coordinator, South Mississippi Christian Tea Party Patriots

Cynthia Saulter, president/co-founder, Leflore/Carroll TEA Party

Charles Woolley, chairman, Clark Fork Valley Tea Party

Lynda Bennett, local coordinator, Haywood9-12 Tea Party

Lynn Childs, tea party chairman, Coastal Carolina Taxpayers Association

Linda Dollyhigh, Surry County Tea Party Patriots

Charles Gunn, Bladen Guards

Hope Hoyt, Catawba Valley Tea Party

Gary Key, construction manager, Surry County Tea Party

Kevin Shinault, NC TEA Coalition and Surry TEA Steering committee leader, Surry County Tea Party Patriots. NC Tea Coalition

Ralph Bodie, coordinator, Pawnee County Tea Party Patriots

James Mason, Nebraska state coordinator, Nebraska Tea Party Patriots

Barbara Brown, director, Tea Party Patriots of Southern New Jersey

Gary Charwin, leadership council member, Middlesex County, NJ Tea Party

Bill Haney, founder/vice president, West Jersey Tea Party

George Hathaway, president, Somerset County Tea Party Organization

Shelly Kennedy, coordinator designate, Bayshore Tea Party

Janice Lenox, director, TPPSNJ

Dennis Mahon, president, Tea Party Patriots of Southern NJ

Nick Rago, founder, Veritas Conservative Alliance

Helen Wagener, member, Liberty and Prosperity

Christopher Wysocki, local coordinator, Caldwell NJ Tea Party Patriots

Rick Crain, Nevada state coordinator, Tea Party Patriots

Brad Lytle, president, Twin Tier Tea Party

Gilda Ward, coordinator, Norwich Tea Party Patriots

Marion Bower, president, American Patriots Against Government Excess

Amy Brighton, co-founder and co-coordinator, Medina Tea Party Patriots

Andrew Castello, Firelands Patriots

James Eilert, director, treasurer, Wayne County (Ohio) TEA Party

Angelo Fantozzi, Sandusky

Tim, Kaser, Eerie County Tea Party

Ralph King, co-founder, Cleveland Tea Party Patriots

Ralph Kraus, president, Firelands Patriots

Linda Riggle, Erie Co Patriots

Douglas Robinson, chairman, Cincinnati East Tea Party

Timothy Savaglio, board member, Liberty Township Tea Party

Gary & Lois Scott, Firelands Patriots

Tom Stahl, Erie County Patriots

Dana Stahl, Firelands Patriots

Jan Gaddis, Chisholm Trail Tea party

Matthew Vermillion, president of executive committee, OKforTEA

Ronda Vuillemont-Smith, president/founder, Tulsa 9.12 Project

Vicki Fleshman, county coordinator, Wallowa County Tea Party

Lil Boysen, co-coordinator, Philadelphia Tea Party Patriots-Lower Bucks

Robert Boysen, PA state coordinator-Tea Party Patriots, Philadelphia Tea Party Patriots-Lower Bucks

 

John Morningstar, local coordinator, Bradforn County Tea Party

Lisa Nancollas, coordinator, Mifflin County Tea Party Patriots

David Noll, president, Bedford County Patriots Tea Party

Bruce & Edna Paskoff, local coordinators, Northeast Pennsylvania Spirit Of 1776

Jane Richey, local coordinator, Venango County Tea Party Patriots

Dianne Belsom, president, Laurens County Tea Party

Anthony Brodnicki, Edisto Patriots

James Matthews, Gilbert-Summit Tea Party

Davie Halpin, TeaTeamUSA

Gary Johnston, co-chairman, Roane County Tea Party

Lynn Moss, state coordinator, Tea Party Patriots

Mishelle Perkins, president, 912 Project Tennessee

Jay Robinson, attorney, Mid South Tea Party

Mark West, president, Chattanooga Tea Party

Maria Acosta, president & founder, Central Texas 9-12 Project

Salvatore Apicelli, education committee chair, San Antonio Tea Party

Mireille Buser, area coordinator, Far North Dallas Tea Party

Steve Cole, Rhome Tea Party

JoAnn Fleming, executive director, Grassroots America - We the People

Dale Huls, executive board member, Clear Lake Tea Party

Mary Huls, president, Clear Lake Tea Party

Lyleann McClellan Thee, vice president, San Angelo TEA Party, Inc.

Ruth Pharis, president, Hill Country Tea Party

Milton Richards, co-organizer, The 912ers of Katy

Tanya Robertson, executive board member, Clear Lake Tea Party

Robert Russell, director, We, the People of Texas, Inc.

Chris Wright, executive committee member, Alexandria Tea Party

Ellie Martin, organizer, VT Tax Payers Picnics

Bruce Brown, president, Lewis County Tea Party

Rose Bunch, secretary, Lewis Clark Tea Party

Dianne Capps, state coordinator, LC Tea Party

Carol Leisi, LC Tea Party

Coralee Mackey, WWTPP

Beth Munson, chair, Sno-Isle Tea Party

Ted Richerzhagen, chair, Walla Walla TEA Party Patriots

Marianne Shea, local coordinator, Asotin, WA

Maureen Sims, coordinator, Renton/Kent/Covington Tea Party Patriots,

Bill Blair, coordinator, Wild River Patriots,Corp.

Michael Hintze, state coordinator, Wisconsin Tea Party Patriots

James Murphy, founder, Green Bay Tea Party